Struggling To Cook, Prep or Show Up For Yourself When You're Left To Fend For Yourself?

Joe went away last week and left me to fend for myself.

When he goes away, I tend to lose all mental capacity to cook. Normally I enjoy cooking together, making new recipes, finding new things to try, experimenting and being creative. But when he goes away? It's like I lose the ability to string a meal together. I just want to go home after a long day and crash out with my puppy. I resort to crumpets, potatoes and beige. But whilst those foods aren't 'bad' and can be enjoyed within a healthy balanced diet, on their own they don't give me everything I need in the moment. Meaning I have to play catchup later with things like protein, fibre, colour or food that actually satiate me. So before he left, here are some things I did to ensure that I stayed in line with my own nutritional goals [as a fitness professional who helps others with their own goals].

This might shock you, or come as a surprise… Even though it might seem like I have my sh*t togehter with food, that's not always the case. So instead, I rely on systems, strategies and actions that make life easier. Which in turn, helps me stay more consistent, keep momentum and in line with my own nutritional goals.

But most of these aren’t ground breaking, or super fancy. It’s probably stuff you do anyway; or you might have done at some point and neglected slightly. Because realistically, most people I talk to don’t need more information, noise or ideas. They need to filter through what they already do or know, to make it more applicable to their life. Because the best strategies, are those that are relevant to you. The most useful tools, are only so if they are realistic and attainable for you now. Not you in an ideal, optimal world (because what even is that and when are we ever living in a perfect bubble?)

Rather than prepping for your best day, I’d suggest you look at the lowest hanging fruit. Prep for the busy, tricky and full on days. The day's where you have work, family responsibilities, deadlines, back-to-back commitments, things to do, you haven't slept and sh*t has hit the fan. Make use of when you do have time, to give yourself time back later down the line. For my 🌶️ 🧠 folk, to work with our brains, not against them. To make things more accessible and likely to stick to change.

1. Stocked up my freezer and fridge. We normally do a big food shop at the start of each week. I find if I’m left to my own devices, without things in the house, I’ll just wander into shops to buy ‘bits and bobs’. Especially on days when I can’t be bothered to cook. Which costs wayyyy more money and means I’ll often buy things forgetting what’s already in the house. It feels like I’m helping in the moment, but when I get home I just have extra food and extra mental fatigue because of choice.

2. Meal prepped more than just lunches. I made extra of things like jacket potatoes, rice and portions of the meals we were having that evening. Meaning I could whizz it in the freezer so I knew I had an easy option for evenings when I get back past 8pm. Making extra carb sources, also takes away the excuse of ‘I can’t be bothered making it for just one’. Reducing the barriers and reasons not to do something is one of the easiest ways to make it more likely that you do do it.

3. I prepped Creami’s in advance, knowing it was going to be warm. I love ice cream [shock], but sometimes find myself spending AGES in the freezer aisle deciding which one I want because of all the new, shiny, exciting flavours to then proceed to buy none because after that time I don’t want it anymore [ADHD at it’s peak]. Joe always reminds me that we have the Creami at home, but at that point it’s too late as we haven’t prepped it. 

4. Convenience is queen. Sometimes cooking for 1 is a right ball ache and it feels like you spend agessssss prepping something to finish it in all of 3 minutes flat. So I made sure I had things to speed up the process in; frozen veg, sachets of pulses, tinned veg, microwave packets. A fantastic way to boost nutritional content of meals.

5. Stocked up on protein snacks. I know I can be a fiend for not wanting to cook when I’m on my own. My VIP clients joke I go into crumpet mode, especially at the end of the week or when I have low capacity for everyday tasks. So I tried to make sure I had ‘top ups’ to hand, knowing that if a meal didn’t tick all the boxes I had other things to fall back on to ensure over the day, I was sound.

   
   

6. Leant into what I know works and relied on repetition. This looks different person to person, but having staples in your diet that are low effort, enjoyable or tick boxes for your personal nutritional goals = winner.
   

7. Embraced the time. I love cooking together, trying new things and how Joe forces me to eat PROPER meals. But I’m also a fiend for unconventional girls dinners. It feels like a little holiday being able to eat these things without him saying “that’s not a proper meal Adele”.  Smashed up cold jacket potato, bbq sauce, cheese and leftover salad? Delish.
   

8. I did the food shop and list before he went away. I used the online food shop which automatically shows you your favourites and tried to stick to it rather than getting excited and filling my basket with random-ness. All of those new, exciting promoted foods will be there this week. I didn’t need to buy them all in one go to likely not eat them anyway once the novel-ness wore off.
   

   

   These work for me….

   
   

   What works for you?